Beware the Hippo - Blair McPherson

The most dangerous animal in Africa  is not the lion or rhino or even the bull elephant it is the hippo. This animal causes the  deaths of more people than all the others put together. The hippo is a very large animal, it is not carnivorous but it can quickly turn from mild mannered to aggressive, it submerges itself grazing on the river bed and surfaces without warning causing boats to be over turned and occupants to be drowned.

According to the Harvard Business Review organisations make most of their important decisions by relying on " HiPPO" the highest paid person's opinion.

Are they the best people to make the decision after all they do not necessarily have the professional background, specialist knowledge or expertise in the area in question. They must submerge themselves in the data and come up with the right decision. However according to the Harvard Business Review "HiPPOs" rely too much on experience and intuition and not enough on data with predictable consequences.

 

"A number of senior executives are genuinely data-driven and willing to override their own intuition. But we believe that throughout the business world today, people rely too much on experience and intuition and not enough on data."

 

What's true of the business world is also true of the public sector. The Director of Children's services is most likely to have a back ground , professional qualification and extensive experience in education yet the post carries with it responsibility for child protection. We have seen recently what can happen if the right decisions are not made in relation to the local authorities approach to protecting children from sexual abuse.

 

 The same is true of the Director of Adults social services there is no requirement for them to be a qualified social worker or have a background in social services maybe before the restructuring they were responsible for the Library and Museum service which have now been combined.  The chief executive is most likely to have a background in finance or legal services and the leader of the council probably has a commercial or business background. These are HiPPOs who should rely on the data but traditionally have relied on their experience and intuition. 

 

Maybe important decisions should not be left to HiPPOs. 

 

Blair McPherson author and Blogger www.blairmcpherson.co.uk